When We Met
by An Enemy Spy
Summary: This is not strictly Tarzan per se, but it's basically the same thing with the names changed. A wealthy young lady encounters a wild man in the deadly jungle.


In my vantage place from the trees, I could see them walking below. Humans had always fascinated me. While I was one of that species, I had never been a part of their societies. I lived in the deep jungle, separate from the tribes of men whose skin was dark like mine. I was aware that they had settlements on the fringes of the trees, but I had never ventured there. The hunters that came out here were dangerous enough without me looking for more trouble from them.

The white men were different by far though. I had seen them a few times before, though they had never laid eyes on me. They came from across the horizon, from some distant shore in their big metal boats, and brought with them strange things. They came into the jungle often, in big parties, making all sorts of noise. They were not like the tribal hunters at all. These men shot animals for fun as well as food with their magic thunder sticks.

They walked single file, with native servants carrying large packs. Every man among them carried a thunder stick. I crept along through the branches above, careful not to make a sound.

I was fascinated by this group, but it was not the men who held my interest.

There was one among them who was different. She was smaller and delicately built, not at all like the musclebound men. She did not appear to have a trace of muscle anywhere on her body. Her shoulders were narrow and her arms were slender. Unlike the men, who wore pants, she was dressed in something like an upturned flower that hid her legs. In her hands, she carried not a thunder stick, but some sort of broad leaf the same blue color as her clothes that she waved in front of her face, and in the other hand a stick with a similarly colored circle of cloth at the end. I assumed it to be a sun shade of sorts, though why anyone would need protection from the sun here amongst the trees was beyond me.

Her face was hidden to me under a broad hat, covered in flowers and with a large feathered plume on the top. I could not fathom why she would choose to wear something so silly. Perhaps she thought it made her beautiful.

Silent as a shadow, I climbed down the trunk of the tree and sunk into the undergrowth. I crawled closer to the group of humans until I was but feet from the girl. I could have reached out and touched her if I so chose and she did not see me at all.

Her hat slanted down sideways, preventing me from seeing her face even at this level. I felt an urge to simply snatch the thing off and run before anyone could react, but she turned her head in my direction before I could.

Her face was the only part of her body that was not covered by clothes. Unlike the tanned men around her, her face was lily white, with soft, smooth skin that had no blemishes or imperfections. Her hair was like gold, carefully piled in a bun under her hat. She was stunning.

Her eyes looked right at me, and for a moment, I worried that I had been discovered. But I saw that her eyes looked right through me, not seeing through my camouflage.

It was clear that her life had been an easy one, and that she had no ability to survive in the deadly jungle without someone to protect her from harm. She was meant to be protected and I wanted to be the one to protect her. I climbed back into the trees and followed along.

It had only been hours since I had arrived in the jungle, and already it had surpassed everything I had dreamed it would be.

Before this, the only adventure I had ever known was reading about it in books written about far flung places, but now I was actually in one of those books.

Of course, it was only for a day, and then I would arrive in the settlement and it would be back to the life of garden parties and feather beds I was used to.

Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name in Annabelle Carradine, but I am known to most simply as Lady Carradine. It is likely you have heard of my father. He runs the South Seas Shipping Fleet, the largest fleet of the entire North Kingdom.

I suppose I shouldn't complain. After all, I am one of the wealthiest girls in the whole world. A life spent living in mansions with the finest of clothes and servants to attend to every need is hardly a life I would trade with most others. It's just, it can be so dull at times to sit looking out the window when out there, there are whole new worlds to explore and men to explore them.

It's been two years since my father left after being appointed to govern the colony here on this newly discovered continent. Legends of Mu have been around for centuries, but nobody really believed them until a ship set down on the shore of this new landmass.

My father wanted things to be ready before he sent for me. He wanted me to have a mansion to live in fully stocked with a staff of native servants. I think if I had been a boy, he would have taken me with him from the start.

I do not believe the men here like having a woman along with them. The captain scoffed when he saw me in my expensive clothes. He said that this was a wilderness trek, not a Sunday stroll. But I feel that a lady should always look like a lady, particularly among the natives of this continent and the surly gentlemen he had under his command. Reminding them of my social status would remind them to act properly around me. And just because a lady is in the jungle does not mean she cannot still look pretty.

As the day wore on, I began to think that perhaps the captain had a point. This dress was not made for tropical heat, and my high heeled shoes made it difficult to walk on the rough ground. I had to constantly hold onto my hat with one hand to keep it from being brushed off by the branches that were constantly in the way, and I eventually gave up altogether on having my parasol open, as it was impossible to keep it from snagging on the branches. You may question the practicality of having a parasol in the jungle where the trees block the sunlight, and here is my answer. A lady never goes outside without a fashionable parasol. What if I was to come upon a clearing with nothing to protect my delicate skin?

There was one upside to wearing all these clothes, however. Whenever we came to a place that my dress made it difficult for me to cross, the captain would order Coby to carry me.

Coby was nearly a foot taller than me and weighed about three times as much. His body was constructed of solid muscle and his heart was as pure as a baby's, unlike the foul minded men who made up the rest of our group. I like being carried by him and I think he liked carrying me. When his huge powerful arms lifted me, I felt like I was protected against anything. I think he enjoyed protecting a pretty girl like me, because he would keep carrying me even after whatever obstacle was in our way had been passed.

The fact that he was extremely handsome did nothing to hurt matters. At times, I found myself hoping that we would be attacked by savages so that he would rescue me from their clutches. Not actually hoping, mind you. Simply fantasizing.

As we were taking a breather and drinking our water, I saw something off in the trees. Overcome by some strange urge, I began walking toward it. Little did I know that I was about to set in motion events that change the course of my life forever.

The girl was leaving the main group. Somehow, not a single man among them noticed her departing. I followed above, watching carefully. I wanted her for my own. I longed for her. She was the first female of my kind I had ever seen and something in me I had never experienced raged. I wanted to drop down, rip the clothes from her body and claim her for my own.

But I didn't. Something told me that was not the way to go about it. So instead I simply watched. Watched as she wandered below, defenseless and helpless, her unnatural perfume wafting into my nostrils.

With catlike tread, I dropped from the tree, making not a sound. I was behind her. I could touch her, grab her, take her…

"Miss Carradine?" I didn't understand the words at the time. It is only now that I can properly relate what was being said. They came from somewhere behind me.

With lightning agility, I leapt into the foliage before she turned around. If she had been paying attention, she would have heard me, but the sound of that oaf whom she had been with all day crashing through the undergrowth covered up the noise.

"Miss Carradine!" He said. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

"I'm sorry, Coby." She said back. "It's just, I thought I saw… never mind. It must have been nothing. Let's go back."

I was about to go back with him, but then I saw what had brought me out here. A baby cat was under a large leaf.

"Look Coby! It's a baby leopard!"

I rushed over to the adorable animal and knelt down next to it.

"Miss Carradine, I really don't think that's such a good idea."

"Oh, he's only a kitten. How dangerous could he be?"

There was a loud growl behind me.

I turned around slowly, terrified to move.

A fully grown leopard came from behind a tree, teeth bared and eyes mad with anger. It tensed, ready to spring. I backed up, but my back hit a tree. There was nowhere to go.

The cat leapt at me, but Coby was able to jump in between us. The two of them slammed into the tree. I jumped back, dropping my fan from fright.

Luckily, the leopard hadn't gotten him with its claws or teeth. He tried to grapple with it, but it was too strong for him. It swatted him against the tree and knocked him unconscious before turning to face me.

I was held spellbound by the cat's eyes. I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. I couldn't do anything at all. I was going to die here, I knew that for sure. Inside my head, a little part of me for some reason thought, I can't die like this, I'm a rich girl. This isn't how rich girls die!

I couldn't believe it. There was one law in the jungle that no creature who wanted to survive broke, and that was that you didn't go near a leopard's cub. And here this blundering rich girl had done just that. By all rights she should have been killed right there, and I could have just watched, knowing that she deserved her fate.

But I didn't. I didn't because this girl was beautiful, and because right then and there I decided that she was mine, and no creature would endanger what belonged to me without first having to get through me first.

So I positioned myself above the cat, and I dropped.

The leopard stalked toward me. It knew there was nothing that could defend me, so it was going to take its time. In desperation, I pointed my parasol at it like a lacy spear, and tried to look fearsome.

"Stay back!" I yelled, and jabbed at it with my unthreatening fashion accessory. It just swatted the parasol away with one powerful swipe of its claws and I fell back screaming.

Suddenly, a dark shape dropped from above and landed on the leopard. I barely saw it, but it looked like a great black man. He stabbed at the leopard with a knife, and suddenly I no longer felt fixed to the spot. I turned and ran, on hand on my hat and the other holding my skirts. Had I had the wherewithal of mind to think, I would have run back to where the men were, and this would be a much shorter story. But instead, I just ran.

Leopards, were strong, and the person who wants to live does not fight them armed with nothing but a knife. Luckily, I had the element of surprise, and was strong enough to hold onto the beast as I jabbed my knife into its shoulders. I saw the girl running away, stumbling in her high heeled shoes, dress forcing her to take small steps, one hand holding her stupid hat in place. It was the first time I had ever seen someone run for their lives while trying to be dainty at the same time. She would have trouble running from a turtle, let alone a leopard. I threw the leopard against a tree, and while it regained its feet, I dove over to the unconscious oaf who had jumped in front of it before.

He had a thunder stick slung across his back. I took it from him and examined it. I had seen these at work before. I didn't know what magic or mechanism made it work, but I knew what happened when you pulled the trigger. I brought the stick to bear as the leopard got up. I pulled the trigger. The projectile that shot out of the stick didn't hit the cat, but the loud boom was enough to scare it off. It scampered off into the trees, taking its cub with it.

That settled that, then. I slung the thunder stick across my back. Something like that would probably come in handy. Now, about the girl…

I looked back to where she was still slowly, daintily escaping. Then I realized where she was about to escape to. That wasn't good.

I ran as fast as I could. Running was not something I had done since I was a child. Rushing anywhere is unladylike, and it was hell to do in a corset and bustle. My lungs, unused to any exertion more difficult than lifting a teacup felt like they would burst. My shoe came down sideways against a root, and my foot came out of it. I wanted to pick it up, but I was too afraid to turn around so I kept running, hobbling with one shoe and one of my soft feet against the rough ground.

I would have yelled for her to stop, but I didn't know her language at all, and any cry I made would like likely have spurred her on out of fear of me. I ran after her, easily closing the distance. She was very close now to new danger. I reached out a hand and grabbed at her little hand trailing behind her. It felt like soft fabric, and then her hand slipped out of mine, leaving nothing but a hand shaped covering.

I didn't know who the wild man was, but I had a good idea of what he wanted with me. He reached out and grabbed my hand with his giant one. My hand slipped out of my satin glove and was left bare. My heart gave way to despair. There was no way I could escape him, and I was exhausted from running. My feet tripped over a log and suddenly I was falling forward down a slope as the ground suddenly gave way in front of me.

I slid down and came to a stop. I looked up at the wild man. He was still holding my glove, and looking down at me with, was that worry? Why should he be worried? Surely I was his for the taking now.

There was a loud rumble. I got unsteadily to my feet and looked around. Large shapes were rising from the ground. Large shapes with leathery skin and sharp horns. It didn't take a zoologist to recognize a rhinoceros, and I was looking at a small herd of them. There was something I learned about rhino's, and that was that they have terrible eyesight and are likely to charge at anything that surprises them.

I had dropped my handbag falling down the incline. Slowly, I reached down for it. One rhino snorted, and I turned and ran.

There is something almost comical about seeing a girl in a fancy dress running from a herd of rhinos, barely able to walk because one foot was higher than the other. I leapt off the slope, grabbed a vine and swung toward her like a monkey after fruit.

I could feel the thundering feet behind me, but I was too afraid to look back. Just when I knew that this time I would die for sure, I felt a strong hand grabbing me and lifting me up. Below me, the rhinos plowed on, trampling everything underfoot. I was raised and lifted into the dark bare chest of the jungle man. Now I really screamed as we hurled through the trees. Sharp branches snagged my dress and tore through skirts and petticoats.

"Put me down! Put me down! Please put me down!" I yelled, but he ignored me. We landed on the branch of a large tree, and he swung me over his back, along with what I recognized as Coby's rifle. I hoped the man hadn't killed my poor Coby.

He began to climb the giant tree. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hung on tight, realizing the irony of clinging desperately to a man I wanted nothing more than to escape from.

He climbed to a high branch of the tree and set me down on it. I turned around, trying to figure out where to run to, but it was useless. We were up hundreds of feet. The only way to go was down, and that was certain death. I collapsed on the branch. I tried to cover my exposed legs with my shredded dress. At the very least, I would defend my decency to my last breath. He came at me slowly, almost curiously. His hand reached out. I slapped it away as hard as I could. It was like slapping a rock.

I thought this would be the time that I would take her. I had saved her life on not one, but two occasions. There was nothing in between me and her now, not men with thunder sticks, not wild animals, not even the layers of her own dress anymore.

The slap on the hand didn't hurt in the slightest. The girl had virtually no physical strength at all. But it was the way she screamed, and the way she looked at me with tears streaming her makeup down her face. It was a look of such abject horror and desperation that it could stop me better than any bodily defense she could muster. I felt… wrong.

When he pulled his hand back, I could see something in his eyes. I had hurt him. Not with the slap of course. I'd done more damage to my own hand with that. But maybe it because I had slapped him. And I realized, he wasn't just some predator of the jungle. I looked deep into his eyes as he looked into mine, and I saw the loneliness there.

I inched toward her, and she made no move to stop me. I reached out my hand.

I took his hand, and we moved closer together. He looked at my hands, one gloved and one not, and he took my glove and slipped it off and I let him.

I tried to put it on my own hand, but it was far too small. She laughed and I let the glove fall away off the tree branch. We moved closer.

It was very high, and a gust of wind took my hat away. I didn't reach for it. I barely even noticed.

Her blonde hair blew freely in the wind. I brushed it aside and took her by the shoulders.

Our faces grew closer together, mine soft and smooth, and his rough and scarred, though now I noticed how young he was, as young as me.

I drew her fragile frame into mine, my lips kissed hers.

And it was the most perfect moment of my life.


End file.
